Hopper railroad cars are used to transport finely divided granular materials including grains, sand, limestone and fertilizers to destinations for utilization in industry and agriculture. The hopper cars have lower discharge gates which allow the bulk materials to flow from the hopper onto a conveyor or into a holding chamber located below the car. Stationary conveyors located adjacent the tracks that support the railroad cars are used to carry the bulk materials to another location such as a transport vehicle or additional conveying systems. The railway car must be moved to align the material discharge gates with the conveyor. This requires time and effort, and increases the liability of the persons operating the conveyor and moving the railway car.
A continuous belt conveyor having a horizontal portion for receiving material from the bottom of a hopper of a railroad car and an upwardly inclined portion for elevating the material to a desired location is disclosed by C. E. Phillips in U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,804. The conveyor is operated with a motor driveably connected to a shaft which rotates the drive roller. A rotor having outwardly directed blades assists in forcing the granular material lying on the belt to move up with the upwardly inclined reach of the belt. The conveyor is not adapted to be coupled to a skid motor vehicle or any other types of vehicles which can be used to lift and transport the conveyor and supply hydraulic fluid under pressure to the motor for operating the conveyor.